|
| |
Hot
Pot
Vietnamese Whole Fish Hot Pot
Vietnamese Beef Fondue Recipe
The idea behind the hot pot is that you cook the fish, meat and vegetables at your leisure and, while doing so, the broth picks up more flavors. It's fun and it gives the cooks a little free time.
It's such a treat. You ladle a little broth over your noodles, then some fish
and meat. The pineapple and tomatoes from the broth are now all mixed in with the vegetables – ah, it's such wonderful way to eat. The best part of it is, when you’re finished, you get to repeat the process over and over again.
The recipe that follows is a simplified version that doesn't require the table side apparatus. It's basically a quick poached fish that you can do with or without the bones.
Vietnamese Whole Fish Hot Pot (serves four)
Ingredients
- 2 – 3 pound Grouper or Sea Bass, scaled and gutted
- 4 cups fish stock or very light chicken stock (water is okay too)
- 1/4 cup tamarind water (place warm water over tamarind pulp and mix, then strain, use just enough water to loosen the pulp)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 Thai chilies, bruised
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
- 1 cup cubes of fresh pineapple
- 1/8 cup ginger, julienne
- 1/2 cup banana flower, rinsed
- 1/2 cup bitter melon, halved lengthwise, seeded, then sliced on the bias
- 1/2 cup okra, sliced on the bias
- 1/4 green onion, cut into 2 inch lengths
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup Chinese celery, torn or chopped using the top part of the stem, too
- 1/4 cup cilantro, torn or chopped using the top part of the stem, too
- 1 shallot, sliced thinly then fried in oil until golden brown (you can also buy this, I think)
- 1 package rice noodles, boiled for 1 to 2 minutes, then rinsed
- 1 tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 tablespoons Fish Sauce
Procedure
Fish:
Lay the fish on a cutting board and remove its head. Then, slice vertically through the fish every 2 inches. If you prefer not having bones, buy fish filets and follow the same 2 inch slicing
Broth:
In a shallow and wide pot, place the stock, tamarind, sugar, chilies and bring to a simmer. Add the fish sauce, tomatoes, pineapple and ginger and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings; it should have a nice balance of sweet, sour and spicy. Don't be concerned if the broth is light in flavor and texture, the rest of the ingredients will take care of that.
Nuoc
Mam Sauce dipping
sauce
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 Tablespoon canned diced green chilies
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar juice of 1 lime
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc mam)
Method
Whisk all together and refrigerate until ready to use. It is best
made the day ahead. Serve at room temperature.
 |
To Serve
In a stainless steel bowl, place the fish and douse it with the 1 tablespoon each of fish sauce and lime juice.
Place the fish in the shallow pot of broth and bring to a very slight simmer. Add the banana flower, bitter melon and okra. Move the ingredients around gently, so they all get cooked evenly. After about 2 minutes from the time you began cooking the fish, add the green onion and bean sprouts.
Place the fish in a deep platter or bowl and spread the vegetables and broth over it. Sprinkle with the herbs and serve the remaining herbs in small bowls tableside along with the noodles.
As with most recipes, especially something like this, you don't need to follow it religiously. Change the veggies, the aromatics or fish -- the main thing is to keep tasting and keep adjusting. If your tongue says you need a little squirt of lime or pineapple juice put it in. The worst thing that can happen is you have to adjust your adjustment. |
Vietnamese Beef Fondue Recipe
(Bo Nhung Dam)
Introduces by the early Mongolian tribesman, and adopted by the Chinese, bo nhung dam is one of the most ancient ways of cooking meat. Traditionally, it was made in a Chinese lau, a large turban-shaped pan containing the broth, with a charcoal stove in the centre to keep the liquid simmering. The modern method simply requires a pot over a fuel burner, just like a fondue. The Vietnamese serve this with a simple table salad, rice wrappers and a dipping sauce. Once all the meat has been cooked, the fragrant broth is poured into bowls to drink.
Ingredients: Serves 4-6
- 30 ml Sesame oil
- 1 clove Garlic, crushes
- 2 Shallots, finely chopped
- 2.5 cm Fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 stalk Lemon grass, cut into several pieces and bruised
- 30 ml Sugar
- 225 ml White rice vinegar
- 700 g Beef fillet, thinly sliced into rectangular strips (partially
frozen for easy slicing)
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground black pepper
For the beef stock
- 450 g Meaty beef bones
- 15 ml Soy Sauce
- 15 ml Fish Sauce (Nuoc mam)
- 1 Onion, peeled and quartered
- 2.5 cm Fresh root ginger, chopped
- 1 Star anise
- 1 Cinnamon stick
For dipping sauce
- 15 ml White rice vinegar
- 1 Lime, squeezed and juiced
- 5 ml Sugar
- 1 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 Thai chilies, seeded and chopped
- 12 Preserved anchovy fillets, drained
- 2 Slices of pineapple, centre removed and flesh chopped
Method:
- To make the stock, put the beef bones into a deep pan with the other ingredients and cover with 900ml water. Bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1-2 hours. Remove the lid, turn up the heat and gently boil the stock for a further 30-40 minutes, or until it has reduced. Strain and season with salt. Measure out 300 ml and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. In a bowl, mix the vinegar and lime juice with the sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and chilies together to form a paste.
- Add the anchovy fillets and pound them to a paste, then add the pineapple and pound them it to a pulp. Stir in the vinegar mixture, and set aside.
- When ready to eat, put 15 ml of sesame oil into a heavy pan, wok or fondue pot. Quickly stir fry the garlic, shallots, ginger and lemon grass until fragrant and golden, then add the sugar, vinegar, beef stock and the remaining sesame oil.
- Bring the liquid to the boil, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Transfer the pan or fondue to a lighted burner at the table. Lay the beef fillet on a serving dish, and put the dipping sauce in a serving bowl. Using chopsticks or fondue forks, each person cooks their own meat in the broth and dips it into the sauce.
- After all the meat has been cooked, serve the broth.
|
FOODOFVIETNAM.COM
